Tokuhiko Kise, TRUCK Furniture

You remember many things about your first trip to Tokuhiko Kise’s Osaka furniture studio. You remember Kise’s warm smile, his rough handshake. You recall how the space seems to glow with the warmth of the furniture. There is no trick—just hard work, charisma and an undeniable passion for the smallest of details.

In 1991, only twenty-three years old, Kise started designing and making furniture by hand. Before starting Truck, he and his wife Hiromi Karatsu wanted to open a shop and would spend hours writing down ideas in what they call a Nandemo or “whatever” notebook. Nothing was off-limits and, for a while, the pair was very seriously considering opening up a Blues Bar. “We wrote out menus, or costs for rent… I don’t know. We imagined many things. I don’t remember why we didn’t open a bar and instead opened a furniture shop, but it was maybe better,” Kise laughs.

"It's the same to make a book or furniture or a cafe, I believe. I want to put all my energy into making the best thing."

Kise likes to work with untreated surfaces—creating pieces that age and grow to develop a look and personality—not dissimilar to people. As such, his work always feels alive, solid, and welcoming. Kise prides himself on honesty in construction. “In our product even the backside, the bottom, or inside... everywhere. I don’t want to hide something. I don’t want to tell lies. It has to be honest.”

In 2007, Kise acquired the land in Ashahi Ward and spent two years with Hiromi designing all of the buildings by themselves, the gardens and then worked to build everything by hand. "It's the same to make a book or furniture or a cafe. I believe. I want to put all my energy into making the best thing.”

In 2007, Kise acquired land in Ashahi Ward and spent two years with Hiromi designing all of the buildings and gardens—which they then built by hand. Inspired by a surf trip with a friend in Noosa, Australia, Kise wanted to build a home or “nest” for his family. In one beautiful block—surrounded by tall trees and the laughter of children from the school next door—there is the Truck Store, Tok’s workshop, Atelier Shirokumasha (a friend’s leather goods shop), Bird coffee shop, and most importantly, the new house. “The first morning we slept in this home, I thought I was in Australia,” Tok says. “The morning sunshine was so incredible.”

But his lack of up-to-date marketing materials can be attributed to his schedule. In the next several months, Tok will present a collection of all new furniture he has created over the past three years (that no one has seen). He is also designing a new Truck store and workshop. “Hiromi says I’m like a tuna fish,” He smiles. “If they stop they die. I need to move. Act. All the time.” ●

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Full story available in Faculty Department Vol. 1.

Photographed in 2012 – Osaka, Japan.

Osaka, Japan

Ido Yoshimoto

Molly Sedlacek

Faculty Department Vol. 1 (Sold Out)